Eurotyp Project Group 6 (Tense-Aspect Systems ... · (Tense-Aspect Systems) Questionnaire on the...

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1 Eurotyp Project Group 6 (Tense-Aspect Systems) Questionnaire on the Progressive Aspect LANGUAGE: DIALECT BACKGROUND: NAME: AGE: LEVEL OF EDUCATION: EMAIL (if possible): PERSON FROM WHOM YOU GOT THIS QUESTIONNAIRE: Please return this questionnaire (not later than the 31st of July) to: prof. Casper De Groot, Institute for General Linguistics, University of Amsterdam, Spuistraat 210, NL-1012 Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Email : CASPERDG @ ALF.LET.UVA.NL

Transcript of Eurotyp Project Group 6 (Tense-Aspect Systems ... · (Tense-Aspect Systems) Questionnaire on the...

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Eurotyp Project

Group 6

(Tense-Aspect Systems)

Questionnaire on the Progressive Aspect

LANGUAGE:

DIALECT BACKGROUND:

NAME:

AGE:

LEVEL OF EDUCATION:

EMAIL (if possible):

PERSON FROM WHOM YOU GOT THIS QUESTIONNAIRE:

Please return this questionnaire (not later than the 31st of July) to: prof. Casper De Groot, Institute for General Linguistics, University of Amsterdam, Spuistraat 210, NL-1012 Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Email: CASPERDG @ ALF.LET.UVA.NL

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Instructions for the compilation of the questionnaire - Please state in the front page your personal data. - The main target of the questionnaire is to collect information on the use of verbal tenses and verbal periphrases. You should concentrate above all on this. Please use CAPITAL LETTERS for the tense forms (as in the example below). If there are alternative translations, put them in brackets. - For each tense form employed, add the appropriate grammatical label (see the example below). Please use the abbreviations suggested in the following table; if necessary, provide a list of the additional abbreviations employed, with their explanations. Note also that, in some cases, other grammatical categories, beyond the verbal tense, may result significant (e.g., as shown below, the morphological case of the direct object). Should this be the case, you are kindly asked to underline the appropriate item. Please provide a label for all relevant pieces of grammatical information. Notice that the words within squared brackets need not be translated: Example to be translated: sentence n° xx- She WASH the child [right now] Translation: sentence n° xx- Hän PESEE (ON PESEMÄSSÄ) vauvaa sentence n° xx- pron. PRS (PROG) PRTV. Key to the bbreviations: pron. = pronoun PRS = Present PRTV = Partitive PROG = Progressive periphrasis NB: if you send in a diskette with your translations, please make two separate files (in ASCII, please!): one for the actual translations, the other for the grammatical labels. Take care that the numbers of the sentences are the same in both files. Of course, a printed version is needed too. We would like to encourage you very much to send a diskette. Alternatively, you may send an email file directly to Casper De Groot (see the email address in the front page).

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KEY TO THE ABBREVIATIONS grammatical label abbreviation aorist AOR auxiliary AUX future FUT gerund GER habitual HAB imperfect IMPF imperfective IPFV infinitive INF participle PART partitive PRTV past PST perfect PF perfective PFV pluperfect PLUP present PRS preterite PST (like past) progressive PROG ........................................................................................... ........................................................................................... ........................................................................................... ........................................................................................... ........................................................................................... ........................................................................................... ........................................................................................... ........................................................................................... ........................................................................................... ........................................................................................... ........................................................................................... ........................................................................................... ........................................................................................... ........................................................................................... ........................................................................................... ...........................................................................................

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Part I. The sentences introduced by the letter A provide the context for the B sentences (cf. S02). Only the latter ones are to be translated. The words within slashes (/……/) should not be translated either; they provide contextual instructions, often shared by more than one successive sentence (when this is the case, the whole series of sentences is contained within a single frame; cf., for instance, S06 and following). Finally, you may also leave out the words within squared brackets (cf. S01), but you should always read them carefully, because they show the intended meaning. Tentative definition: S01- /Somebody on the phone wants to know about Ann; the answer is: - Ann is

near me… / … She WORK [right now]. S02- A: What does Ann do every saturday morning? B: She CLEAN THE HOUSE / READ The obvious difference is that in S01 the event is viewed as still in progress at the relevant moment (in this case, the speech point), whereas in S02 no single moment is focused on (the sentence indicates a habitual situation). In order to say that, in your language, there is a specific form expressing the idea of Progressive, it should be possible: (i) either to use a different form in these two sentences, or at least: (ii) to have available in the first sentence an alternative form, that is not available in the second. Let us consider another series of examples, with past instead of present reference:

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S03- [Last night at 8 o' clock,] when John came, Ann still WORK. S04- Last year we [usually] CLEAN THE HOUSE on Saturdays [now we do it

on Thursdays]. S05- Last summer, John VISIT us three times. The purpose of this questionnaire is to check whether the specific form(s) (if they are indeed specific) used in S01 and S03 may be used in each of the following sentences. All the alternative solutions (if any) should always be written down (provided they all convey the meaning which is typical of S01 and S03), possibly suggesting also which is the most appropriate one. For inst., languages exhibiting a purely imperfective form (such as the Imperfect tense in the past) may easily exploit it to convey Progressive meaning, even though this is not a specialized morpheme. But if there is an overt (i.e. specialized) marking, please indicate both devices whenever appropriate. It is conceivable that some sentences may receive other interpretations, besides the Progressive one (as defined according to theabove examples). Please, concentrate on the Progressive meaning only.

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=== /Somebody on the phone wants to know about John; the answer is: - John is near me… /

S06- … He CLEAN a gun S07- … He READ a newspaper S08- … He BUILD a shelter [for the sheep] S09- … He SING a song S10- … He GIVE a present to his sister S11- … He TELL a story to his sister.

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=== /Somebody on the phone wants to know about Ann; the answer is: - Ann is near me… /

S12- … She PEEL potatoes S13- … She PEEL the potatoes S13- … She PEEL 3 kilos of potatoes S14- … She PEEL all the potatoes S16- … She CHASE chickens [out of the house] S17- … She CHASE two chickens [out of the house] S18- … She WRITE her thesis [I think she will never finish]

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=== /Somebody on the phone wants to know about Ted; the answer is:/ S19- She HAVE his hair CUT [right now] S20- He MAKE the child EAT the porridge [right now] === /Somebody on the phone wants to know about Julie; the answer is/ S21- She GO OUT [right now; do you want me to hold her back?] S22- Well, [right now] she FLY to New York / Moscow [you can call her

tomorrow at her hotel]

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=== /Somebody on the phone wants to know about Fred; the answer is: -Fred is near me, … /

S23- … he BEGIN to peel the potatoes [right now] S24- … he FINISH repairing the lamp [right now] S25- … he BEGIN a language drill [right now] S26- … he FINISH a language drill [right now] S27- … he CONTINUE his story-telling [right now]. S28- /Somebody on the phone wants to know about Mary; the answer is/ [Right now] She SIT in the kitchen/yard

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S29 A: I need my blue shirt right now; where is it? B: It HANG on the nail S30- I took the photo exactly while John THROW the stone against the window S31- [Right now] The climber REACH the top of the mountain S32- The pardon arrived just while the captain GIVE the sign to the firing

squad. S33- [Look, there he goes again!] George inadvertently INSULT his neighbour

with his silly questions. [He really cannot understand the situation].

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S34- [Incredible! Listen to him now! With his words] Philip unconsciously ADMITS the guilt.

S35- [Look at John on the sofa!] He DREAM of his girlfriend S36- [Look out of the window now!] The sun SHINE S37- The water BOIL [shall I make tea?] S38- [Look, what a shame!] The apples ROT on the tree S39- [Now, unexpectedly,] Peter KNOW the answer S40- [Now, unexpectedly,] Tess LIKE the music

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S41- The mountain SURROUND the plain S42- [What a wonderful present!] You BE very KIND, now! S43- /John has made a negative comment on Ann's hair-style; Ann says with a

tone of surprise/ You BE RUDE this evening. === /on the phone/ A: Is Ann with you right now? S44- B: No, she DANCE [in the next room] S45- B: No, she PLAY CARDS [in the next room]

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=== /on the phone/ A: Is Ann at home right now? -B: No, … S46- … she SHOP. She left one hour ago S47- … she PLAY CARDS in the club [as usual] S48- [Yesterday, during my sleep] Ann PLAY for 2 hours all by herself S49- [During the whole time of the class/prayer] Ann TALK to her neighbour

[in fact, she carried on even afterwards] S50- [During the whole time of the class/prayer] Ann TALK to her neighbour

[but as soon as that was over, she suddenly became very silent]

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S51- [Moment by moment] The policeman TAKE NOTES of what the speaker said

S52- He continually FORGET people's names S53- The level of the water INCREASE slightly since yesterday S54- [When I arrived] the situation already IMPROVE little by little S55- [When I arrived] the snow COVER gradually the land S56- [Hurry up!] The train LEAVE S57- The old man DIE [but finally they found the right medicine]

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S58- Ann STAND in the doorway, [right now] S59- The statue STAND in the garden [for the summer] S60- [Think! While we are here talking about our matters] the earth TURN

around the sun S61- The boss TYPE his own letters, while the secretary is ill S62- It was a bright summer day. The bees HUM, the birds SING, the cows

GRAZE in the greenfield. Suddenly, the earth opened and the devil came out.

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S63- At that time, he GO to dance every Saturday. S64- If you insist on calling me Fred, you INTRUDE in my private life. S65- As soon as you start asking what is the use of education, you ABANDON

the basic assumptions of any true culture. S66- Ann LEAVE tomorrow S67- Ann LEAVE in a minute

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S68- John GET MARRIED tomorrow. Who BE his witness at the wedding? S69- Who BE captain of the team tomorrow? S70- Yesterday, while Ann READ in her room, Martin PLAY in the courtyard === /What did Martin do yesterday evening?/ S71- He STUDY, he READ the paper, he EAT, and then he GO to bed S72- He STUDY from 2 to 6, he READ the paper from 6 to 7, he EAT from 7 to

8, and then he GO to bed S73- [For goodness sake,] WORK when the boss comes back!

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S74- /Mother to daughter, whom she wants to punish/ You NOT GO to that

party! S75- [Come in, please!] The meal BE SERVED [right now] S76- The boss was angry, because John not WORK when he came in S77- [Let's go out,] it not RAIN now S78- [This is disgusting;] it is 8.30 and the train not yet LEAVE S79- Tom must FEED the animals [I guess]

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S80- Ann should TEACH now [I guess] S81- [I am so tired:] I BAKE all day since I got up this morning S82- When John came home yesterday, he was very tired because he WORK

hard all week S83- If you come at 8 o' clock, I still COOK [Come a little later, please].

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Part II.

This part contains purely theoretical questions. They should be answered after completing the first part. Please remember that when the notion Progressive is mentioned, this refers specifically to the verb form(s) which is/are used in sentences S01 and S03. 1. General characterization: a- Which devices are used to express the Progressive, as typically defined in

examples S01 and S03? Are there synthetic devices besides periphrastic ones? b- If there is more than one device, describe them morphologically, and point to

the possible differences (e.g.: Italian has “stare a + Infinitive" and “andare/venire + Gerund", besides “stare + Gerund", which is the most typical Progressive periphrasis).

c- Do the ‘auxiliary' verbs used in the various periphrastic expressions retain their usual meaning, or are they fully grammaticalized?

d- If postural verbs are used to express the Progressive, are they all possible? Do they keep some of their original meaning? (e.g. SIT in S07, STAND in S37, LIE in S35, HANG in S38).

e- Is there a special ‘motion' Progressive? i.e., is a verb like GO or MOVE possible or necessary if the action is carried out while moving around? (e.g. in S44). Is the ‘motion' Progressive possible with goal-oriented motion, or only in the sense of “moving around"?

f- Do the alternative devices cover the same meanings? Are they used with the same type of verbs? (see also below, point 2,b)

g- To which extent is an explicit marking of progressivity obligatory? Is it always obligatory, or only in certain contexts? (e.g. the ‘incidential' scheme, cf. S03, S30, S32, S76, S82)

h- Are there relevant differences with respect to style and register? i- How frequent is the construction in actual usage (written and spoken)? j- Is there an overlap between Perfect and Progressive markers? e.g. has the form

used with atelic verbs in S01 a perfect interpretation with telic verbs, as in

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S02? Has a perfect been used in any of the sentences?. If so, is this due to a special character of those verbs in your language (e.g. S28, S59)?

2. Aspectual and actional (i.e., Aktionsart) properties: a- How do the various devices integrate in the grammar, from the point of view

of the basic aspectual oppositions? (obviously, perfective vs. imperfective; but make explicit whatever system of oppositions you think is at work here. Cf. again sentences S01-S05).

b- Is it possible to combine the Progressive with a habitual (or quasi-habitual) meaning? (cf. S63-S65)

b- How do these devices integrate in the grammar, from the point of view of the basic meaning of the predicate? Specifically, is the Progressive possible with: - intransitive activities? (cf. S01; consider also verbs such as boil, blossom,

walk, cry etc.) - transitive verbs? (cf. S06-S11); does the definite / indefinite nature of the

object matter? Is object incorporation possible or necessary, and under what conditions? (cf. S12-S18)

- causative verbs? (cf. S19-S20) - motion verbs? (cf. S21-S22) - phasal verbs? (cf. S23-S27) - ‘postural verbs'? (cf. S28-S29) - non-durative verbs? (cf. S21, S30-S32); do they imply imminentiality? - non-intentional verbs? (cf. S33-S34) - non-agentive, intransitive processes? (cf. S35-S38) - stative verbs? (cf. S39-S43).

c- ‘Locomotive' meaning, and related matters. In some languages, like German, it is likely that specific periphrases are used in the following contexts. Needless to say, the situations presented here are not Progressive in the strict sense; it is interesting to see what happens in your language:

i- He is a terrible person: he BRAG all the time (about his merits) [herum laufen und angeben]

ii- Ann INTERVIEW people (from house to house), now

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3. Morphological properties: a- Is the system of oppositions the same in all tenses? (cf. Present vs. Past in

English. For instance, is there an opposition in the Present between a Progressive and a (basically) generic interpretation, depending on the morphology used?)

b- Do all finite tenses combine with the specific devices that you have specified under 1 above?

c- Do all non-finite tenses combine with the Progressive? (cf. the Infinitive in S79-S80) (Incidentally: can the Infinitive in these sentence have other meanings than the epistemic one?).

d- Is the imperative allowed with the Progressive? (cf. sentence S73-S74) e- Is the passive allowed with the Progressive? (cf. sentence S75; if the answer is

yes, to what extent is this possible? can you say something like: How long has this bridge been being built )

f- Is the copula allowed with the Progressive? If the answer is yes, what do such constructions mean? (cf. S42-S43)

g- Are all persons of the verb possible with the Progressive? Try to use them with sentence S01 and S03, or any other sentence that you consider prototypical, and point out any peculiarity that you note.

h- Do you know of any other relevant morphological property? 4. Syntactic properties: a- May the elements of the Progressive (periphrastic) constructions be separated,

and by what sort of materials? (e.g.: he is already working ; consider also still / presently / precisely / at this moment etc.)

b- May a portion of the construction be marginalized in a parenthetic clause? (e.g.: Jean, en train de se préparer pour le voyage, en fut beaucoup surpris)

c- Is it possible to build constructions which may be interpreted as the coordination of a locative expression and a Progressive, in which the copula

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and/or the coordinative conjunction are deleted? (e.g.: Ann is inside, (and) working hard ; John is in bed, (and) sleeping soundly )

d- Can Progressive and non-Progressive be coordinated? (as in the following sentence, where only one verb must be in the Progressive form):

i- John WRITE and Ann PAINT the windows. Are there different ways to coordinate Progressive and non-Progressive forms? 5. Temporal reference: a. Are the Progressive devices possible with any location of the event with

respect to speech time? (cf. S03, S81-S83) b. May durative adverbials be used with the Progressive? (cf. S48-S52) c. Does the Progressive imply a ‘temporariness' meaning? (cf. S58-S61) d. Is any of the Progressive forms restricted to ‘unbroken' activity? i.e. is the

actor necessarily engaged in the activity at the moment referred to? Consider the following sentence:

i- John is playing tennis very often, this summer. e. Is there a merely ‘interpretative' use of the Progressive? (e.g.: Those on the roll

who do not vote will in fact be voting ‘no' ) f. Can the Progressive express a futurate meaning? (cf. S66-S69) g. Can the Progressive be used to express a strictly coordinated sequence of

events? (cf. S70-S72) 6. Any additional remark is welcome. Please add your comments, using as

much paper as you wish. Thank you for your patience. We have made some progress!